Using Local Networks For Location Information And Image Tagging

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method for establishing a location for a digital image without the use of a GPS unit. Aspects of the invention include broadcasting over a network a location identifier (ID) identifying a location of the network; detecting the location ID by a digital image capture device coupled to the network; and in response to the image capture device capturing a digital image when in communication with the network, associating the location ID with the digital image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/978,491 filed on Nov. 1, 2004, titled “Using Local Networksfor Location Information and Image Tagging” (now U.S. Pat. No. ______,issued ______), which is commonly owned with this application and isherein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to location services for digital images,and more particularly to a method and system for using local areanetworks for location information and image tagging.

Currently, in order to provide location services for a digital camerafor the purpose of automating location tag creation for images, thecamera must have some location sensors, such as a GPS receiver or cellphone with location detection. A central database can then review theimage to determine what tags should be attached at a later time (the GPSor other location codes are stored in the image as tags for retrievallater).

An example of such a system available is the Caplio Pro G3 digitalcamera by Ricoh that is capable of automatic image geo-coding. ACompactFlash WAAS GPS card plugs into a slot in the camera and captureslocation data as the user takes pictures and stores the data in theimages. Alternatively, a Bluetooth adapter allows the camera tocommunicate with a Bluetooth GPS unit for capturing the location data.The camera comes equipped with a desktop application called “GPS-PhotoLink.” Once the geo-coded images are downloaded to the user's desktop,the GPS-Photo Link application creates GPS watermarks for the images.The user may also insert a CompactFlash WiFi 802.11b card into thecamera for wireless communication for the purpose of downloading theimages from the camera to a PC or PDA via FTP or e-mail.

Another example of a system that associates digital images with aphotographer's location is a GPS equipped PDA called coyotEYE by LupineLogic, Inc. of Missoula, Mont. The CoyotEYE product includes an iPAQ PDAby HP of Palo Alto, Calif., add-on hardware by Nexian, Inc. (theNexiCAMand NexiGPS hardware), and a choice of SyBASE iAnywhere or MS Accessdatabase engine.

Although integrating a GPS unit into the camera eliminates the need forthe user to carry a separate GPS unit, the use of GPS units withhandheld digital image capture devices has several disadvantages, whichincludes being bulky, expensive, and energy inefficient. For example,FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the Ricoh camera 500 with an attachedGPS CompactFlash card 502. Also shown is an example image 504watermarked with the GPS data. As shown, the GPS CompactFlash card 502inserted into the Ricoh camera 500 extends well outside of the camerahousing, which is unwieldy to use. Similarly, the GPS antenna of thecoyotEYE PDA extends well past the PDA housing. In addition, the Ricohcamera/GPS/software bundle lists for $1199, with the GPS card 502contributing $160, and the coyotEYE PDA lists for $849.99. It is unclearhow many users, other than hard-core enthusiast, will be willing to paysuch a premium to have their images stamped with location data.

In the future, it is expected that the use of GPS units in handhelddigital image capture devices will become ubiquitous as advances inhardware make the GPS units smaller, less expensive, and moreenergy-efficient. In the meantime, however, a need exists for a methodand system for establishing the location of digital images that does notsuffer the limitations present with today's GPS technology. The presentinvention addresses such a need.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present invention provides a method and system for establishing alocation for a digital image using local networks, rather than using GPSunits. Aspects of the invention include broadcasting over a network alocation identifier (ID) identifying a location of the network;detecting the location ID by a digital image capture device coupled tothe network; and in response to the image capture device capturing adigital image when in communication with the network, associating thelocation ID with the digital image.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, the location IDbroadcast over the network includes a network ID. After the mobiledevice captures a digital image while in communication with the network,the network ID is sent to an online location information service, whichlooks-up the location of the network based on the network ID. Thelocation information is then returned for association with the digitalimage, preferably as a location tag. In a third aspect of the presentinvention, not only does the location information service provide theuser with general capture location tags, but may also provide a specificdescription tag describing the contents of the images by matchinguploaded captured images to reference images captured within the samenetwork, and using description tags saved with the reference images toautomatically tag the uploaded images.

According to the method and system disclosed herein, the presentinvention provides users of mobile devices with automatic locationtagging of images captured by mobile devices without the need andexpense of GPS units.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional Ricoh camera with anattached GPS CompactFlash card.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system for utilizing localnetworks to determine a location of digital images captured with amobile device according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the process for establishing alocation for a digital image based on a detected location ID accordingto the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a system for utilizing localwireless networks to determine a location of digital images capturedwith a wireless mobile device.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the process for establishing alocation for a digital image based on a detected network ID in apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the process for establishing thelocation for digital images based on a detected network ID in furtherdetail according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a system for providing specificdescription tags describing the content of digital images.

FIGS. 8A-8B are flow diagrams illustrating the process of automaticallytagging images with location information that includes a description ofthe image in accordance with a preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to location service for digital images.The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skillin the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the contextof a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications tothe preferred embodiments and the generic principles and featuresdescribed herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to theembodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistentwith the principles and features described herein.

With recent advancements in the integration of GPS and digital imaging,it has been found desirable to add location information to the images asa user travels from place to place taking pictures, as location is oneof the strongest memory cues when people are recalling past events.However, as stated above, the use of GPS systems and digital imagecapture devices has inherent limitations that hinder the widespreadadoption of automatic tagging of images with location information.

According to the present invention, rather than using GPS units togeocode digital images to provide location information, the presentinvention utilizes the availability of many small local area wirelessnetworks as a means of establishing location for digital images. In afirst embodiment, wireless networks are configured to broadcast locationidentifiers (IDs), which may then be detected by mobile devices andassociated with any images captured while the mobile device is withindetectable range of the wireless network. In the first embodiment, thelocation ID is text and/or audio tags identifying the geographicallocation (e.g., Starbucks, Palo Alto, Calif.). In a second embodiment ofthe present invention, the location IDs broadcast by the networks arenetwork IDs. After the mobile device captures a digital image while incommunication with the network, the network ID is sent to an onlinelocation service, which looks-up the location of the network based onthe network ID. The location information is then returned forassociation with the digital image, preferably as a location tag.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system for utilizing localnetworks to determine a location of digital images captured with amobile device according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention. The system includes a plurality of networks 14 and ahand-held digital image capture device, (hereinafter, mobile device) 16.Although in a preferred embodiment, the network 14 and the mobile deviceare wireless, as shown, a wired network and wired network connection tothe device 16 may also be used to implement the present invention. Thewireless networks 14 typically include one or more wireless access ports20 depending on the geographic size of the network. The geographicboundary covered by each wireless network 14 is commonly referred to asa hot spot. Typically, anyone entering the hot spot with a compliantwireless device has connectivity to the Internet 22. In a preferredembodiment, the wireless networks 14 and the mobile device 16 complywith the IEEE standard 802 and/or BlueTooth and substitutes therefore.In an 802.11 Wi-Fi network, each access port 20 has a range ofapproximately 150 feet, while in an 802.16 or 802.20 WiMAX network, eachaccess port 20 has a range measured in miles.

The mobile device 16, which may be a camera phone, PDA and the like,includes a CPU or DSP 30, a memory 32, a network interface 34, anddevice specific components 37, including a camera, for carrying out theintended function of the device 16.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the process for establishing alocation for a digital image based on a detected location ID accordingto the first embodiment. Referring to both FIGS. 2 and 3, the processbegins by providing the wireless network 14 with the ability tobroadcast an identifier of the location of the wireless network,referred to hereinafter as a location ID 6 in step 5. As stated above,the location ID 6 may comprise text, an audio clip, or both (e.g., “SanFrancisco international Airport”). In a preferred embodiment, thewireless network 14 broadcast the location ID 6 as part of the wirelessprotocol. In an alternative embodiment, the wireless network 14 isprovided with a separate device that broadcast the location ID 6 as amessage to all devices on the wireless network 14. In this environment,a separate device could be a small unit that plugs into the wall of thelocal establishment and is set up to have access to the local wirelessnetwork 14 for just this purpose.

In step 7, the mobile device 16 is also provided with a small customclient, referred to as a location tagging application 4 that uses thenetwork interface 34 to detect the presence of the wireless network 14when coupled to the network, and read the location ID broadcast from theaccess port 20 of the network 14. The network interface 34 at a minimumincludes a wireless receiver for enabling the device 16 to detect thepresence of the wireless network 14 under direction of the locationtagging application 4. Preferably, full communication with the network14 does not need to be established before the location taggingapplication 4 can detect the broadcast location ID. Alternatively, thenetwork interface 34 may comprise a transceiver that provides the mobiledevice 16 with full wireless communication.

In step 9, in response to the mobile device 16 capturing a digital image24 while in the presence of the wireless network 14, the locationtagging application 4 automatically associates the location ID 6 withthe captured image 24. According to the first embodiment of the presentinvention, a method and system for automatically determining thelocation of images captured by mobile device and for associating thelocation with the images using broadcast location IDs is provided thatis a cost-effective alternative to the use of bulky and expensive GPSsystems.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a system for utilizing localwireless networks to determine a location of digital images capturedwith a wireless mobile device according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention. The system 10 includes a plurality of wirelessnetworks 14, a mobile device 16, and an optional PC 18 for storing theimages captured by the image capture device 14.

The second embodiment of the present invention also eliminates the needto use GPS systems for location information for images by providingeither the mobile device 16 and/or the PC 18 with a location taggingapplication 36 that may perform the same functions described above forthe tagging application 4, but also communicates with a network-basedlocation information service 12 over the Internet 22. After the mobiledevice 16 captures digital images 24 while in the presence of thewireless network 14, the user of the mobile device 16 utilizes thelocation information service 12 to have the captured images 24automatically tagged with a predefined location tag 28 associated withthe detected network ID 26.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the process for establishing alocation for a digital image based on a detected network ID in apreferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to both FIGS. 4and 5, the process begins in step 100 when the mobile device 16 detectsthe presence of one or more of the wireless networks 14 and determinesan identifier (ID) of the networks 14. The network interface 34 at aminimum includes a wireless receiver for enabling the device 16 todetect the presence of the wireless network 14 under direction of thelocation tagging application 36. Alternatively, the network interface 34may comprise a transceiver that provides the mobile device 16 with fullwireless communication. The identifier of the network or network ID 26detected by the mobile device 16 may be a network address and/or an IDof the nearest access port 20 in a multi-port network 14.

In step 102, in response to the mobile device 16 capturing a digitalimage 24 while in range of the wireless network 14, the detected networkID 26 is used to establish the location of the network. This isaccomplished by sending the network ID 26 to a server 38 of the locationinformation service 12 for retrieval of the location tag 28corresponding to the submitted network ID 26. In response to receivingthe network ID 26, in step 104 the server 38 returns the location tag 28corresponding to the network ID 26 so that the location of the networkcan then be associated with the digital image 14.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the process for establishing thelocation for digital images based on a detected network ID in furtherdetail. According to a first embodiment of the present invention, theprocess includes two stages: a location information service setup stage200 and an operations stage 202.

The setup stage 200 begins in step 204 by establishing the locationinformation service 12 that includes a plurality of participatingwireless networks 14 that broadcast network ID's 26 in a manner thatenables the networks 14 and/or their access ports 20 to be identifiedthrough their wireless protocol, and that make their network ID's 26available to the location information service 12. According to thepresent invention, each network 14 owner provides to the locationinformation service 12 its network ID 26 and a location tag 28describing the location of the network 14. The network ID 26 and thelocation tag 28 are stored in a network provider database 40 along withother information regarding each wireless network 14, including anaccount number 42, and a name of the network provider 44. In a preferredembodiment of the present invention, the location information service 12agrees to pay the owner of each participating wireless network 14 a feeto become part of the location information service 12. The fee may be aone time lump sum or an incremental fee based on the number of locationtag requests for the network 14 that the location service 12 receivesover some period of time, or a combination of these two payment methods.

The setup stage 200 also includes providing a wireless network componentfor use in the mobile device 16 in step 206, preferably the locationtagging application 36 that discovers local wireless networks 14 andcommunicates with them sufficiently through the network interface 34 toretrieve the network ID 26. As described above, retrieving the networkID 26 may not require any transmission on the part of the mobile device16 if the network ID 26 is transmitted as part of the network's normalwireless protocol. In an alternate embodiment, a wireless device couldbe provided either as part of a wireless network 14 or as a stand-alonedevice whose sole purpose is to transmit such information to thewireless device 16.

Prior to accessing the location information service 12 with the mobiledevices 16, end-users of the mobile devices 16 must first signup withthe location information service 12, preferably for a fee. For example,the location information service 12 may charge users a one cent fee foreach network ID upload. Once a user is signed up, an account is createdfor the user and stored in a user account database 46.

The operations stage 202 begins in step 208 when the mobile device 16 ofa location service registered user detects the network ID 26 of thewireless network 14. In step 210, the mobile device 16 stores thedetected network ID 26 in association with each image 24 captured whilethe mobile device 16 is in detectable range of the network ID 26. Instep 212, the location tagging application 36 uploads the network ID's26 associated with the captured images 24 to the server 38 for thepurpose of receiving in response the location tag 28 describing wherethe images were taken. Note, if several images were taken within thesame wireless network 14, then the location tagging application 36 needonly transmit a single detected network ID 26. If different images 24were taken within different wireless networks 14, then the network IDfor each detected wireless network 14 would be sent to the server 38.

In a preferred embodiment, the network ID's 26 are sent to the server 38from the location tagging application 36 running on the user's PC 18after the images 24 and their network ID's 26 are transferred to the PC18. Alternatively, the location tagging application 36 on the mobiledevice 16 may be used to transfer the network ID's 26 directly to theserver 38.

In step 214, after receiving the network ID's 26, the server 38 queriesthe network provider database 40 with each received network ID 26, andretrieves the corresponding location tags 28. In step 216, the server 38returns the network ID's 26 and their corresponding location tags 28 tothe requesting location tagging application 36. In step 218, thelocation tagging application 36 associates the location tags 26 with theimages 24 having matching network ID's 26. Preferably, location tags 26are stored as part of the image's metadata. In step 220, when the images24 are subsequently displayed to the user, the location taggingapplication 36 also displays the corresponding location tags 28, therebyautomatically indicating the general capture location of the picture.

In a third embodiment of the present invention, not only does thelocation information service 12 provide the user with the generalcapture location tag for each image 24, but also provides a specificdescription tag that describes the content of the image 24.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a system for providing specificdescription tags describing the content of digital images, where likecomponents from FIG. 4 have like reference numerals. To implement thethird embodiment of the present invention, the location informationservice 12 is provided with a photographer account database 50, areference image database 52, and an image recognition application 54.

FIGS. 8A-8B are flow diagrams illustrating the process of automaticallytagging images with location information that includes a description ofthe image in accordance with a preferred embodiment. The process issimilar to that described with respect to FIG. 6 with additional steps.Therefore, FIGS. 8A-8B reproduce the steps from FIG. 6 along withmodified and additional steps corresponding to the second embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to both FIGS. 7 and 8A, the first modification begins with newstep 207 where each network owner or a third-party photographer providesthe location information service 12 with reference images 56 of items ofinterest within, and in view of, the wireless network 14 along withcorresponding description tags 58 indicating the content of thereference image 56. As an example, the description tags 58 may identifylandmarks, streets, buildings, and so on. The reference images 56 andthe corresponding description tags 58 are stored in the reference imagedatabase 52. In a further aspect of this embodiment, the locationinformation service 12 pays a fee for any reference images 56 submitted.In the case where the network owner submits the reference images 56, thetransaction is stored in the network provider database 40 under theaccount number of the network 14. In the case of a third party supplyingthe reference images 56, the transaction is stored in a photographeraccount database 50. In the case where reference images 56 are providedby the user of the mobile device 16, the transaction is stored in theuser account database 46. Registered users may be paid in the form offree tagging services, rather than money.

The beginning of the operations stage 202 remains the same in which thenetwork ID 26 is detected and stored with each image captured within thewireless network 14 in steps 208 and 210. In step 212′ the locationtagging application uploads both the images 24 and the network ID's 26associated with the images to the server 38. As an alternative tosending full resolution images, the location tagging application 36 mayupload reduced resolution images to the service 12.

In step 214, after receiving the network ID's 26, the server 38 queriesthe network provider database 40 with each received network ID 26, andretrieves the corresponding location tags 28. In step 215, the server 38invokes the image recognition application 54 to compare the uploadedimages 24 with relevant reference images 56 associated with the samenetwork ID 26 as the uploaded images 24, and retrieves the descriptiontags 58 of the matching reference images 56. Various types of imagerecognition programs are well-known to those with ordinary skill in theart and therefore will not be described further.

Referring to FIG. 8B, in step 216, if a match for the image 24 is found,then the server 38 returns the corresponding description tag 58 to therequesting location tagging application 36; otherwise, the server 38returns the corresponding general location tag 28. Whichever tag isreturned, the description tags 58 and/or the location tag 28, the tag ispreferably stored as part of the image's metadata. The description tag58 may contain the same information contained in general location tag 28plus specific information about the content of the image. In step 220,when the images 24 are subsequently displayed to the user, the tags 58or 28 are returned in association with each image 24 are also displayed,thereby automatically indicating the specific content of the image, orotherwise the general capture location of the image. In an alternativeembodiment, both tags 58 and 28 for an image may be returned anddisplayed.

In step 224, the location tagging application 36 determines if there areany images 24 returned from the server 38 without a matching descriptiontag 58. If so, then the location tagging application 36 prompts the userto enter a description in step 226. If the user complies, the locationtagging application 36 transmits the description tag to the server 228(with user permission). In step 230, the server 38 stores the image 24as a reference image 56 in the reference image database 52 along withthe uploaded description tag 58 and the corresponding network ID,thereby helping to populate the reference image database to increase theprobability of future image recognition matches.

Notice that the location information service 12 need not be concernedwith tampering in the form of falsely submitted images or tags becauseof built-in security and feedback mechanisms associated in the service12. There are two types of possible tampering: one is the submission ofreference images 56 having intentionally wrong network ID's, and thesecond is the submission of images 56 having intentionally bogusdescription tags 58. The first type of tampering can be taken care of byensuring that the network ID's 26 transmitted to the service 12 inassociation with the images 24 are securely embedded within the images24 so that one intent on tampering could not simply copy the network IDfrom one image into another. However, even if one could upload areference image 56 associated with the wrong network ID to the service12, no harm would be done because an image 24 uploaded to service 12 forrecognition would not likely match the false image. Over time, anyreference image 56 that produces no matches in the database 52 could bedeleted. The second type of tampering where an image is submitted with abogus description type 58 may result in an image 24 submitted by a userbeing returned with the bogus description tag 58. In this instance, theuser would presumably report the incorrect description tag 58 to thelocation information service 12, which may then either delete that entryin the database 52 or correct it. This could be done automatically ifthe user replaces the description in the tag with a differentdescription. In this case, the tagging application could ask the user ifthe new description was better than the old, or if the old was in factincorrect.

A method and system for establishing a location for a digital image hasbeen disclosed. The present invention has been described in accordancewith the embodiments shown, and one of ordinary skill in the art willreadily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments, andany variations would be within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. Accordingly, many modifications may be made by one ofordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

The methods described herein can be embodied in executable instructionsstored in a computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution machine, system, apparatus, or device, such as acomputer-based or processor-containing machine, system, apparatus, ordevice. As used here, a “computer-readable medium” can include one ormore of any suitable media for storing the executable instructions of acomputer program in one or more of an electronic, magnetic, optical, andelectromagnetic form, such that the instruction execution machine,system, apparatus, or device can read (or fetch) the instructions fromthe computer readable medium and execute the instructions for carryingout the described methods. A non-exhaustive list of conventionalexemplary computer readable medium includes: a portable computerdiskette; a random access memory (RAM); a read only memory (ROM); anerasable programmable read only memory (EPROM or Flash memory); opticalstorage devices, including a portable compact disc (CD), a portabledigital video disc (DVD), and the like.

1. A method for tagging digital images in a system having anetwork-based service maintaining a database of one or more wirelessnetworks, the network IDs associated with the one or more wirelessnetworks, location tags each describing a location of one of the one ormore wireless networks, and a plurality of reference images, eachreference image stored in association with a description tag indicatingthe content of the reference image and at least one correspondingnetwork identifier (ID) of a wireless network from one or more wirelessnetworks detected when the reference image was captured, the network IDidentifying at least a portion of the wireless network from the one ormore wireless networks without using global positioning systemcoordinates, the method comprising: transmitting at least one digitalimage and at least one network ID of at least one of the one or morewireless networks associated with the at least one digital image to thenetwork-based service; for each of the at least one digital image:receiving a corresponding description tag of a matching reference imagefrom the network-based service, thereby automatically indicating aspecific content of the at least one digital image if the network-basedservice finds a matching reference image among reference imagesassociated with a same network ID as the at least one network ID andassociating the corresponding description tag with the at least onedigital image; receiving a corresponding location tag, therebyautomatically indicating a general capture location of the at least onedigital image if the network-based service does not find a matchingreference image among reference images associated with a same network IDas the at least one network ID and associating the correspondinglocation tag with the at least one digital image, the correspondinglocation tag including a text description of the location of the networkportion, wherein at least one of the preceding actions is performed onat least one electronic hardware component.
 2. The method of claim 1further comprising: detecting, by a digital image capture device atleast one network ID broadcast over at least one of one or more wirelessnetworks; associating the at least one network ID with the at least onedigital image in response to the digital image capture device capturingthe at least one digital image while in range of the at least onenetwork ID.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the digital image capturedevice associates the at least one network ID with the at least onedigital image in response to the digital image capture device capturingthe at least one digital image while in range of the at least onenetwork ID using a tagging application.
 4. The method of claim 2 whereinthe digital image capture device comprises a wireless mobile device. 5.The method of claim 1 wherein the location tag comprises one of a texttag, an audio tag, and a text and audio tag.
 6. The method of claim 1further comprising displaying each of the at least one digital image andone of the corresponding location tag and the corresponding descriptiontag associated with the at least one digital image.
 7. The method ofclaim 1 wherein associating the corresponding location tag with the atleast one digital image comprises storing the corresponding location tagas image metadata.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein associating thecorresponding description tag with the at least one digital imagecomprises storing the corresponding description tag as image metadata.9. The method of claim 1 wherein the corresponding description tagincludes information in the corresponding location tag.
 10. The methodof claim 1 further comprising: prompting a user to enter a descriptionof the at least one digital image if a corresponding description tag isnot received; and transmitting the description to the network-basedservice.
 11. A system for tagging digital images using one or morewireless networks that broadcast network identifiers (IDs) that aredetectable through a wireless protocol and a network-based service thatmaintains a database of the wireless networks, the network IDs, alocation tag of each wireless network describing a location of thecorresponding wireless network, and a plurality of reference images,each reference image having an association with at least onecorresponding network ID of at least one wireless network from the oneor more wireless networks that was detected when the reference image wascaptured and a description tag indicating the content of the image, thesystem comprising: a tagging component configured to transmit at leastone captured digital image and at least one network ID associated withthe at least one captured digital image to the network-based service forretrieval of at least one corresponding tag for the at least onecaptured digital image and for each of the at least one captured digitalimage: receive a corresponding description tag of a matching referenceimage from the network-based service and associate the correspondingdescription tag with the at least one captured digital image if thenetwork-based service finds a matching reference image among referenceimages associated with at least one same network ID as the at least onenetwork ID and associate the corresponding description tag with the atleast one captured digital image; and receive a corresponding locationtag from the network-based service and associate the correspondinglocation tag with the at least one captured digital image if thenetwork-based service does not find a matching reference image andassociate the corresponding location tag with the at least one captureddigital image; and display means for displaying each of the at least onecaptured digital image and one of the corresponding location tag and thecorresponding description tag for each of the at least one captureddigital image, wherein at least one of the system components includes atleast one electronic hardware component.
 12. The system of claim 11further comprising a digital image capture device configured to: capturedigital images and for each of the at least one captured digital image:associate the at least one captured digital image with at least onenetwork ID detected at the time of image capture.
 13. The system ofclaim 12 wherein the digital image capture device associates the atleast one network ID with the at least one digital image in response tothe digital image capture device capturing the at least one digitalimage while in range of the at least one network ID using a taggingapplication.
 14. The system of claim 12 wherein the digital imagecapture device comprises a wireless mobile device.
 15. The system ofclaim 11 wherein the location tag comprises one of a text tag, an audiotag, and a text and audio tag.
 16. The system of claim 11 whereinassociating the corresponding location tag with the at least one digitalimage comprises storing the corresponding location tag as imagemetadata.
 17. The system of claim 11 wherein associating thecorresponding description tag with the at least one digital imagecomprises storing the corresponding description tag as image metadata.18. The system of claim 11 wherein the corresponding description tagincludes information in the corresponding location tag.
 19. The systemof claim 11 wherein the tagging application is further configured to:prompt a user to enter a description of the at least one digital imageif a corresponding description tag is not received; and transmit thedescription to the network-based service.
 20. A method of providing taginformation for digital images in a system using one or more wirelessnetworks that broadcast network identifiers (IDs) that are detectablethrough a wireless protocol, the method comprising: maintaining adatabase of the one or more wireless networks, the network IDsassociated with the one or more wireless networks, location tags eachdescribing a location of one of the one or more wireless networks, and aplurality of reference images, each reference image associated with atleast one network ID of at least one wireless network from one or morewireless networks detected when the reference image was captured and adescription tag describing contents of each respective reference image,wherein each network ID does not utilize global positioning systemcoordinates; receiving at least one image, each of the at least oneimage having at least one associated network ID detected when the atleast one image was captured; for each of the at least one image:comparing the at least one image with relevant reference imagesassociated with a same network ID as the at least one associated networkID; if a matching reference image is found: retrieving a correspondingdescription tag of any matching reference image from the database;providing the corresponding description tag to a requesting application,thereby automatically indicating a specific content of the receivedimage; and if a matching reference image is not found: retrieving acorresponding location tag from the database corresponding to thewireless network with which the at least one associated network ID isassociated; and providing the corresponding location tag to therequesting application, thereby automatically indicating a generalcapture location of the at least one image, wherein at least one of thepreceding actions is performed on at least one electronic hardwarecomponent.
 21. The method of claim 20 wherein the requesting applicationcomprises a tagging application.
 22. The method of claim 20 furthercomprising: receiving a description of the at least one digital image ifa matching reference image was not found; storing the at least onedigital image as a reference image; storing information from thedescription as a description tag associated with the at least onedigital image; and storing the at least one associated network ID inassociation with the at least one digital image.
 23. A system forproviding tag information for digital images, the system using one ormore wireless networks that broadcast network identifiers (IDs) that aredetectable through a wireless protocol, the system comprising systemcomponents including: a network-based service component that maintains adatabase of the one or more wireless networks, the network IDsassociated with the one or more wireless networks, location tags eachdescribing a location of one of the one or more wireless networks, and aplurality of reference images, each reference image associated with atleast one network ID of at least one wireless network from one or morewireless networks detected when the reference image was captured and adescription tag describing contents of each respective reference image,wherein each network ID does not utilize global positioning systemcoordinates, the network-based service configured to receive images,each received image having at least one associated network ID detectedwhen the received image was captured; an image recognition componentaccessible to the network-based service configured to: compare areceived image with relevant reference images associated with a samenetwork ID as the at least one associated network ID; and retrieve thedescription tags of any matching reference images; and for each receivedimage: if a matching reference image is found, the network-based servicereturns a corresponding description tag to a requesting application,thereby automatically indicating a specific content of the receivedimage; and if a matching reference image is not found, the network-basedservice returns a corresponding location tag, thereby automaticallyindicating a general capture location of the received image, wherein atleast one of the system components includes at least one electronichardware component.
 24. The system of claim 23 wherein the requestingapplication comprises a tagging application.
 25. The system of claim 23wherein the network-based service component is further configured to:receive a description of the at least one digital image if a matchingreference image was not found; store the at least one digital image as areference image; store information from the description as a descriptiontag associated with the at least one digital image; and store the atleast one associated network ID in association with the at least onedigital image.
 26. A computer-readable medium containing programinstructions for tagging a digital image in a system having anetwork-based service maintaining a database of one or more wirelessnetworks, the network IDs associated with the one or more wirelessnetworks, location tags each describing a location of one of the one ormore wireless networks, and a plurality of reference images, eachreference image stored in association with a description tag indicatingthe content of the reference image and at least one correspondingnetwork identifier (ID) of a wireless network from the one or morewireless networks detected when the reference image was captured, thenetwork ID identifying at least a portion of the wireless network fromthe one or more wireless networks without using global positioningsystem coordinates, the program instructions for: transmitting at leastone digital image and at least one network ID of at least one of the oneor more wireless networks associated with the at least one digital imageto the network-based service; for each of the at least one digitalimage: receiving a corresponding description tag of a matching referenceimage from the network-based service, thereby automatically indicating aspecific content of the digital image if the network-based service findsa matching reference image among reference images associated with a samenetwork ID as the at least one network ID and associating thecorresponding description tag with the digital image; and receiving acorresponding location tag, thereby automatically indicating a generalcapture location of the digital image if the network-based service doesnot find a matching reference image among reference images associatedwith a same network ID as the at least one network ID and associatingthe corresponding location tag with the digital image, the correspondinglocation tag including a text description of the location of the networkportion.
 27. The computer-readable medium of claim 26 having furtherprogram instructions for: detecting at least one network ID broadcastover the at least one of the one or more wireless networks; andassociating the at least one network ID with the at least one digitalimage in response to a digital image capture device capturing at leastone digital image while in range of the at least one network ID.
 28. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 26 having further program instructionsfor displaying the at least one digital image and one of thecorresponding location tag and the corresponding description tag.
 29. Acomputer-readable medium containing program instructions for taginformation for digital images in a system using one or more wirelessnetworks that broadcast network identifiers (IDs) that are detectablethrough a wireless protocol, the program instructions for: maintaining adatabase of the one or more wireless networks, the network IDsassociated with the one or more wireless networks, location tags eachdescribing a location of one of the one or more wireless networks, and aplurality of reference images, each reference image associated with atleast one network ID of at least one wireless network from one or morewireless networks detected when the reference image was captured and adescription tag describing contents of each respective reference image,wherein each network ID does not utilize global positioning systemcoordinates; receiving at least one image, each of the at least oneimage having at least one associated network ID detected when the atleast one image was captured; for each of the at least one image:comparing the at least one image with relevant reference imagesassociated with a same network ID as the at least one associated networkID; if a matching reference image is found: retrieving a correspondingdescription tag of any matching reference image from the database;providing the corresponding description tag to a requesting application,thereby automatically indicating a specific content of the receivedimage; and if a matching reference image is not found: retrieving acorresponding location tag from the database corresponding to thewireless network with which the at least one associated network ID isassociated; and providing the corresponding location tag to therequesting application, thereby automatically indicating a generalcapture location of the at least one image.
 30. The computer-readablemedium of claim 29 having further program instructions for: receiving adescription of the at least one digital image if a matching referenceimage was not found; storing the at least one digital image as areference image; storing information from the description as adescription tag associated with the at least one digital image; andstoring the at least one associated network ID in association with theat least one digital image.